


Contingency Plan

by flowersheep



Category: Merlin (TV), SCP Foundation
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gen, Immortal Merlin, Near Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-15
Updated: 2019-08-15
Packaged: 2020-09-01 13:29:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20258878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flowersheep/pseuds/flowersheep
Summary: O5-5 is aware that if anyone finds out she's enacting the contingency plan that was literally just vetoed that morning that she will be in huge trouble. Fortunately, she's pretty sure that with the impending apolcalypse no one is paying much attention.





	Contingency Plan

**Author's Note:**

> I don't even know how long this has been sitting in my WIPs. Possibly three years by now. Anyway, figured it was time I finally gave it one last read through and then posted it.
> 
> This particular Merlin/SCP fusion is based off of [Kalinin's Proprosal](http://www.scp-wiki.net/kalinins-proposal)

This had gotten way out of hand. O5-5 stared blankly at the wall of her office, ignoring the message displayed on her terminal. Seven to six. The vote had been seven to six. After the failure of contingency plan 2798-5 to pass she’d thought for sure this one would pass, but apparently her speech when she’d brought it up hadn’t been convincing enough. And she understood the others' skepticism, she really did. This plan wasn't any more appealing to her than it was to the others. But they were out of options. The shit had officially hit the fan yesterday and as the world fell to pieces around her O5-5 had made her decision. The vote no longer mattered. What mattered was stopping the end of the world. So, despite the seven to six vote she'd made the call. She would accept her well deserved ass kicking when this was all over, as long as it meant they were all still alive.

"I was wondering if you were gonna be able to swallow your pride long enough to ask for my help."

O5-5 startled so violently she banged her knee on her desk. Biting back violent swears, she whipped around to see SCP-5121 leaning against the wall beside her window like it had been there all along. For all she knew, it had.

"You scared the shit out of me," O5-5 said, less viciously than she'd intended. She resisted the urge to put a hand to her chest while her pounding heart calmed down.

It smiled, something sinister beneath the amusement that sent a shiver down her spine. "Sorry," it said, not sounding the least bit apologetic.

"Would it kill you to use the door just once?"

"Maybe it would." SCP-5121 shrugged. "So. SCP-2798 has finally failed and SCP-001 has started wreaking havoc."

O5-5 smoothed a hand over her hair, regaining her composure, and quietly admitted. "Yes. We're out of options. So, I've decided to implement Contingency Plan 5121."

"I have a hard time believing the overseer council approved this."

"They didn't." O5-5 crossed her arms. "But the situation is desperate. We- we need your help." It almost physically pained her to say it. A smirk slowly spread over SCP-5121's face. "Is this amusing to you?"

"Kind of," it admitted. "I've always found it amusing how openly hostile the Overseer council is towards me. I would think you would be more concerned about offending a being who could, conceivably, end the world as you know it. I wouldn't, by the way. I have no interest in personally causing a CK-class restructuring scenario. Or an XK-class one. Or any K-class scenario really. I quite like the universe as it is right now, current cluster fuck notwithstanding."

"You've made it abundantly clear that you have no loyalty towards the Foundation," O5-5 said. God, she hated dealing with SCP-5121. And yet somehow she always got nominated for it. It was one thing dealing with a sentient humanoid object that they could contain. It was another thing entirely to deal with SCP-5121, which had so far proved impossible to contain. The Keter classification that had been slapped on the file after the Site 17 massacre twenty years ago had been well earned. You would never know it just by looking at it though. For all intents and purposes, SCP-5121 was a young man in his early twenties of ambiguous British descent. O5-5 had seen what it was capable of though. She knew the kind of hell SCP-5121 could unleash if it felt so inclined. She was also acutely aware that there was nothing they could do to stop it. The only thing keeping SCP-5121 from destroying reality was its apparent fondness for the way things currently were and whatever moral compass it relied on. If she’d had her way it never would’ve been given its secondary Thaumial classification. Helpful or no, it was dangerous, unpredictable, and decidedly not loyal to the Foundation.

SCP-5121 shrugged again and, instead of answering to that statement, asked, “So how is this gonna work? Are you just gonna trust me to go off and take care of this on my own or do you wanna tag along and babysit? Normally I’d expect like a special assignment for one of your top agents or even a mobile task force to be assigned to me, but I imagine the rest of the Foundation’s personnel are rather busy right now.” O5-5 was quiet for a long moment before finally asking the question she was scared to know the answer to.

“Can you stop it?” Because this was it. There were no more contingency plans, no more fail safes, no more options. This was their last resort. If there was even the smallest chance that SCP-5121 could stop what was happening then she had to take it. All traces of amusement left its expression.

“I can,” it said, firm and confident. O5-5 could feel her heart pounding in her chest, sweat slicked palms curling into fists at her side. Alongside the despair that had taken root since the failure of their protective measures she now felt a tiny nugget of hope.

“You can?”

SCP-5121 nodded. “However, I’m going to need something from one of your facilities.”

Of course. SCP-5121 never did anything for them for free. Most often, it asked for an object in Foundation custody. O5-5 wondered what it wanted this time. “I hardly think now is the time for bargaining,” she tried, hoping to defer this part of the arrangement.

“Oh you misunderstand,” it said. “This isn’t payment for my help. I need this object in order to stop SCP-001. In fact, this was one of the few occasions where I was actually happy to let the Foundation take an artifact off my hands. Never knew what to do with it myself so I figured I may as well let it be stored in a secure location.”

O5-5 was skeptical. She was always skeptical of anything SCP-5121 said. It had proved itself to be a flawless liar. However, this wasn’t the time for skepticism. The world had gone to hell or at least was heading there very quickly. Whatever scheme SCP-5121 had in mind couldn’t possibly be worse than whatever SCP-001 had planned for them.

“Alright, what do you need?” O5-5 asked.

“Do you still have contact with Site-19?”

-

The whole flight to Site-19 O5-5 kept expecting the helicopter to drop out of the sky. It didn't. O5-5 suspected this had something to do with SCP-5121 because when they'd boarded the chopper she'd seen the flash of gold in its eyes that meant it was using one of its anomalous abilities. But she wasn't thinking too hard about that right now. She was just grateful that when they touched down just outside Site-19 it was without incident.

"Jesus Christ," O5-5 muttered. This side of the compound was almost serene, but on the other side of the compound she could see smoke rising. Accompanying it was the distant staccato sound of automatic gunfire. SCP-5121 seemed unconcerned. It made straight for the nearest entrance to the compound, which should have been guarded. Considering the current circumstances it was understandable that there was no one in sight. Once inside, SCP-5121 paused and tilted its head, like it was listening for something.

"Ah, there it is," it said softly and started down the hall. O5-5 quickly followed, glancing over her shoulder. They met no one as SCP-5121 led them through the compound. It was eerie. Finally, they stopped in front of a door leading into one of the Site-19 warehouses. O5-5 started to reach for her ID card, but before she could get it out of her pocket SCP-5121 raised its hand to hover over the card reader. Its eyes flashed gold and the doors unlocked and opened.

"I don't like that you can do that," O5-5 said sourly.

SCP-5121 smiled, sly. "I'm sure you don't. Very useful for when you guys find things you shouldn't." O5-5 recalled a few occasions when objects had disappeared, the assumption being that an organization of interest had managed to slip through their security. No wonder none of their precautions had ever worked.

"When this is over," O5-5 said, "I'm having your Thaumiel classification removed." SCP-5121 laughed.

"You do realize that if I'm successful I will be responsible for saving the world. We're definitely heading towards some kind of K class scenario. Possibly an XK class, but a CK class is possible too. Hard to tell exactly where this is all going, but I think we can all agree it'll be bad."

O5-5 decided against replying. She didn't want to admit that SCP-5121 made a very good point. For all that it was a pain in the ass, it was potentially going to save them all from a horrible fate. Not to mention all the help it had provided to the Foundation in the past. The vote for the secondary Thaumiel classification had been close, but it had succeeded for a reason. O5-5 had voted against and as she followed SCP-5121 through the warehouse she didn't have any regrets.

Near the back of the warehouse SCP-5121 slowed to carefully peruse a line of lockers, stopping in front of a long, thin one. As with the card reader at the entrance, it simply waved its hand over the keypad and the locker opened. The object it pulled out was a staff with a strange crystal on top of it. There were scratches along the wood that looked like some kind of writing.

"What is it?" O5-5 asked, unable to keep the awe completely out of her voice. It was beautiful and unsettling at the same time.

"A Sidhe staff," SCP-5121 answered. "A rare artifact indeed. The Sidhe don't just leave something like this lying around for anyone to mess with."

"So where did this one come from?"

"I acquired it some time in the sixth century. A couple of banished Sidhe tried to murder a friend of mine in order to return to their home and I did not take kindly to it. This just happened to be the nearest thing I could use to get rid of them." SCP-5121 glanced at her. "By 'get rid of' I mean kill."

O5-5 rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I figured. Now what?"

Before SCP-5121 could even open its mouth to respond they heard the rapid approach of footsteps. Turning, O5-5 was surprised to see a Site-19 security guard. Wide eyed, shaking, clothes ripped and bloody. Still, he bravely raised his gun and ordered, "Stop!" It would have been commendable, had the gun not been pointed at her.

"Drop the object!" the guard demanded, voice on the shrill side. SCP-5121, predictably, did no such thing. In fact it looked mildly amused.

"Just take it easy," O5-5 said. She held her hands up in a placating manner.

"I said drop the object!"

"We don't have time for this," SCP-5121 said. It flashed the guard an apologetic smile. "Sorry in advance." SCP-5121 strode forward confidently. O5-5 watched with interest, intrigued by the possibility of seeing firsthand what happened when bullets met a powerful reality bending Keter class object. But the security guard didn't fire. In fact, he didn't move at all.

"W-What's happening?" the security guard exclaimed. "I can't move!"

"Don't worry about it," SCP-5121 said. It stopped in front of the frozen security guard and placed a hand on the man's forehead. "Now, _swefe_." The guard immediately collapsed to the ground.

"Did you kill him?" O5-5 asked, reproachful. SCP-5121 gave her a flat look.

"For what, doing his job?" it asked. "In the middle of the apocalypse no less. Of course not. He's merely asleep. In an hour or so he'll come to. We have more important things to worry about." Without waiting for her to follow, SCP-5121 started walking towards the nearest warehouse exit. O5-5 spared one last look for the security guard and hurried after it. Their exit from the facility was too quiet and uneventful, considering the chaos going on around them.

"Now what?" O5-5 asked. SCP-5121 was still walking and appeared to have no intention of stopping. "You do have a plan, don't you?"

"Oh ye of little faith," SCP-5121 said. "Of course I have a plan. And that plan involves a place of power."

"A place of power?" O5-5 repeated.

SCP-5121 hummed in affirmation. "Powerful as I am, this goes a bit beyond my natural ability. I need to tap into a ley line." The term was familiar. If O5-5 remembered right it referred to a crisscrossing network of energy lines running all over the earth beneath the surface. The Foundation had discovered them when attempting to install Scranton Reality Anchors at one of their sites. The official term for them was something like energy lines or energy network.

"That sounds potentially highly dangerous," O5-5 said.

"It is," SCP-5121 confirmed. "Assuming you have no idea what you're doing. Fortunately for the continued survival of the human species I know what I'm doing." At O5-5's skeptical look it added, "Hey, even if I'm lying, what's the worst that could happen? I can't possibly cause any more damage than SCP-001 will."

"Small comfort," O5-5 muttered. “So where exactly do you tap into a ley line?”

“At a place of power.”

When nothing else was forthcoming, O5-5 sighed, pointedly asking, “And a place of power would be where?”

“Hm? Oh the nearest one is about eighty miles or so east of here.”

O5-5 was so outraged she forgot to watch where she put her feet and almost tripped over a rock. “Are you fucking serious right now? We’re going to walk eighty miles while the world goes to shit around us and pray we make it in time? That’s your plan?”

“Of course not,” SCP-5121 said. O5-5 strongly suspected it had rolled its eyes. “There’s some weird interference at Site-19 that I wanna get clear of before I go opening portals or teleporting places. You do not want interference when portal hopping, trust me. Doesn’t end well.”

O5-5 took a deep breath, regaining her composure. She tossed a nervous glance over her shoulder back towards Site-19. “Do you absolutely have to go to this place of power? Can’t you just do whatever it is you’re planning on doing right here?”

“I suppose I could do it here,” SCP-5121 said slowly. “We’re practically walking on top of a ley line right now. But-”

“Well then do it here! The sooner the better!”

SCP-5121 paused and turned to give her an unimpressed look. “You can have this done fast or you can have it done right. Actually, you can only have it done right because I refuse to cut corners on this. The ley line we’re on is pretty deep under the surface. It would take me ages to draw enough power to the surface for the binding I need to perform and over time the power would sink back down to the ley line, meaning I’d have to come back often in order to maintain it. I’m not doing that when there’s a perfectly good place of power eighty miles east of here with a ley line running so close to the surface I feel like the gods damned energizer bunny if I stay there more than five minutes. And, as an added bonus, the place of power is much more remote than the side of a road.”

O5-5 glanced at the road they were walking alongside and admitted that was a fair point. Although, seeing as this road ran towards Site-19 it didn’t see a lot of traffic and all of that was almost exclusively Foundation personnel. “Alright, fine, place of power it is- What are you doing?” SCP-5121 had come to a sudden stop and grabbed O5-5’s arm. She tensed, wondering what it was up to.

“We’re clear of the interference,” SCP-5121 said. Before O5-5 could get another word out, SCP-5121 spoke in its strange, unsettling language and its eyes flashed gold. She shut her eyes tight, expecting the worst. A moment later she felt SCP-5121 let go of her arm and heard it walk away. Carefully, she peaked her eyes open. They’d left the side of the road and were now in a forest clearing. It was deceptively peaceful here. You wouldn’t know the world was falling to pieces. O5-5 took it in, feeling the calmest she had in the last twenty-four hours.

“I see you have deigned to get involved.”

The unfamiliar voice startled O5-5 out of her peaceful revery. She whipped around to see a small, humanoid creature sitting on a rock at the edge of the clearing. SCP-5121 tossed an irritated look at the creature.

“Piss off Grettir,” it said. “Of course I’m getting involved. This is my home too.”

“Wouldn’t know it based on how you’ve been acting,” the creature said.

“Everyone needs a vacation.”

“Yours has been going on for what, two hundred years now?”

“It hasn’t been _that_ long."

“I might be off by a decade or so.”

“And I haven’t completely ignored everything.”

“That is true. Maybe you’re not as much of a grumpy old man as I thought.”

“Maybe, but you’re still an asshole.” SCP-5121 eyed the creature. “You can’t tell me you honestly thought I wouldn’t get involved in this.”

The creature shrugged. “Never know with you these days. You’ve a tendency to consider many things not your problem when they most certainly are. You are an envoy of the gods after all.”

“The fuck does that even mean anyway? I’ve never been clear.”

“It means you’re on this earth to carry out the will of the gods.”

“What bollocks. If they want me to do something they should just tell me instead of leaving cryptic annoying hints every century or so. Even Kilgharrah was never that annoyingly vague.” SCP-5121 had been pacing around the clearing as it spoke with the creature. Now it came to an abrupt stop. “Here. This spot is perfect.”

“Ah, I see,” the creature said and leaned back to watch.

“What exactly are you doing?” O5-5 asked, a little nervous. “Are you going to destroy SCP-001?”

“Can’t,” was SCP-5121’s distracted reply. It knelt down to inspect the ground, nodded to itself, and stood. “I know your ideal solution would be to get rid of SCP-001 entirely, but it’s beyond my power to do that. Powerful as I am, there are some things even I can’t do. No, I’m erecting a barrier around Earth.”

“We already tried that,” O5-5 reminded it, gritting her teeth. “It was only a temporary solution!”

“Relax,” SCP-5121 said. “The barrier the Foundation put up was indeed temporary. Mine won’t be. Since I’m anchoring it to the ley line it should be able to maintain itself. I’ll stop in and check on it every so often.” It stopped to give O5-5 a significant look. “Of course, this site will need to be well protected to ensure there is no outside interference that will damage the barrier. Any disturbance of the staff could weaken the spell or even break it.” It took O5-5 a moment to catch onto what SCP-5121 was saying.

“You want me to arrange security?” she asked slowly, just to make sure she was understanding correctly.

“Secrecy and containment _are_ supposed to be the Foundation’s fortes,” SCP-5121 said. “Now stand back.” O5-5 backed away without protest, still stuck on the fact that SCP-5121 was apparently willing to trust the Foundation with possibly one of the most important things on the planet.

As SCP-5121 planted its feet and began to chant, staff raised above its head, she had a moment of doubt. SCP-5121 could not be trusted. What if it had tricked her into helping it do something even worse to humanity than whatever SCP-001 had in store? Her resolve firmed. Even if that were true it was too late to turn back. She was committed to this and she would just have to have faith that things would turn out alright.

Something began to fill the clearing. O5-5 couldn’t describe the feeling, but it was almost overwhelming. The creature didn’t seem to be affected by it, still lounging in its spot, but O5-5 felt all the hair on her body stand on end. Just when the feeling began to become too much, SCP-5121 stopped chanting and stabbed the staff into the ground. Visually, nothing happened. In her soul though O5-5 felt a shock wave wash over her before it spread out across the world. She blinked and looked at SCP-5121, who was observing the staff with a critical eye.

“Well, everything seems to have gone well,” it said.

“So it worked?” O5-5 asked. “We’re safe?”

SCP-5121 shrugged. “Only time will tell.” It looked at the creature. “Can I ask a favor of you, Grettir?”

“I’m tempted to say no,” the creature said. “But fine, ask.”

“I’m going to let the Foundation arrange long term security for the staff, but until they can spare the resources for that, will you make sure nothing interferes with the barrier?”

The creature grew serious. “Of course, Emrys.” It even inclined its head respectfully towards SCP-5121. O5-5’s eyebrows went up, but she decided against asking. There were more important things to deal with. 

“So,” SCP-5121 said, turning back to her, “on to the the next disaster?”

O5-5 took a deep breath and nodded. “Yep. Time to clean up this mess.”

**Author's Note:**

> I feel like there are two possibilities for Merlin being able to lie these days. 1) He's had a lot of practice over the centuries. 2) He uses illusions to mask any nervous behaviors that would give him away because he's not naturally good at lying and no amount of practice has changed that.


End file.
